Overview

• Police identified the suspect as Peni Cere, 42, a Santa Rosa resident who worked as a uniformed security guard, often on night shifts.
• The victim reported that in June a man in a uniform and badge forced his way into her vehicle on Montgomery Drive, claimed to be police, and sexually assaulted her after threatening to call ICE.
• Investigators say the woman delayed reporting out of fear of deportation and filed a complaint only after encouragement from a family member earlier this month.
• Officers conducting surveillance detained Cere at 9:15 p.m. on Aug. 7 after he parked on College Avenue, about four blocks from the reported assault location.
• Cere was booked on suspicion of assault with attempt to commit rape and threatening arrest or deportation to commit sexual assault, with bail set at $250,000, as SRPD urges additional victims or witnesses to contact its DVSA unit.